Despite the alleged proofs of a continuity and/or a memory of pre-protohistoric frequentation of the Temples Valley, the archaeological data are sparse and do not testify any continuity. As a matter of fact, a few huts of Bronze Age and, in the Porta V Sanctuary, the remains of levels and huts of Ne- olithic Age, are disconnected and hardly related to cult activities. Some scattered pottery fragments of “Polizzello” ware belong most probably to the early phases of the colony itself. On the contrary, in many cases, the Greek sanctuaries seem to have been marked by the dedication of earlier Greek ter- racotta or wooden figures: one of them is a Late Bronze Age Cretan statue of a goddess; the other ones belong to Seventh century BC and were prob- ably brought from the mother-city Gela at the time of ktisis of Akragas. In the Archaic Sanctuaries the earliest buildings are some small temples and altars of mid sixth century. A major monumentalization reshapes the whole sacrescape from late sixth and above all first half of fifth century. A more detailed view of such transformation – i.e continuity of cult and ritual vs. a partial discontinuity of architectural framework – is possible thanks to recent research in the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios. Here a mid 6th century oikos temple, likely dedicated to Artemis, was maintained and adapted to the new layout of the Teronian sanctuary, dominated by the colos- sal Olympieion. The near alsos was framed by a monumental pool for ritual baths, a small “rocky square” with water channels and trees in between, and a huge hall for banquets and theoxenic ritu- als (trapeza in the east part). In such suggestive scenario the traditional cults (Helene, Dioskouroi, Artemis) and rituals were performed, partly in the antique way within the old naiskos, partly in amore emphatic architectural and “natural” envi- ronement. The relationships between this part of the sanctuary and the main monumental temples (Olympieion and “Herakles” Temple – Heraion?) have to be rethought under the lens of the complex interplay of tradition and innovations.
Portale, E.C., de Cesare, M. (2024). Continuità e discontinuità nella sfera del sacro: i primi secoli di Akragas. In J. Bergemann, E.C. Portale (a cura di), Antike Heiligtümer in Griechenland, Magna Graecia und Sizilien. Entstehung, Funktionen, Riten und Monumentalisierung als religiöse und interkulturelle Phänomene- Ancient Sanctuaries in Greece, Magna Graecia and Sicily. Origins, Functions, Rites and Monumentalization as Religious and Intercultural Phenomena (pp. 97-106). Rahden : Verlag Marie Leidorf.
Continuità e discontinuità nella sfera del sacro: i primi secoli di Akragas
Portale, Elisa Chiara
Co-primo
;de Cesare, Monica
Co-primo
2024-12-01
Abstract
Despite the alleged proofs of a continuity and/or a memory of pre-protohistoric frequentation of the Temples Valley, the archaeological data are sparse and do not testify any continuity. As a matter of fact, a few huts of Bronze Age and, in the Porta V Sanctuary, the remains of levels and huts of Ne- olithic Age, are disconnected and hardly related to cult activities. Some scattered pottery fragments of “Polizzello” ware belong most probably to the early phases of the colony itself. On the contrary, in many cases, the Greek sanctuaries seem to have been marked by the dedication of earlier Greek ter- racotta or wooden figures: one of them is a Late Bronze Age Cretan statue of a goddess; the other ones belong to Seventh century BC and were prob- ably brought from the mother-city Gela at the time of ktisis of Akragas. In the Archaic Sanctuaries the earliest buildings are some small temples and altars of mid sixth century. A major monumentalization reshapes the whole sacrescape from late sixth and above all first half of fifth century. A more detailed view of such transformation – i.e continuity of cult and ritual vs. a partial discontinuity of architectural framework – is possible thanks to recent research in the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios. Here a mid 6th century oikos temple, likely dedicated to Artemis, was maintained and adapted to the new layout of the Teronian sanctuary, dominated by the colos- sal Olympieion. The near alsos was framed by a monumental pool for ritual baths, a small “rocky square” with water channels and trees in between, and a huge hall for banquets and theoxenic ritu- als (trapeza in the east part). In such suggestive scenario the traditional cults (Helene, Dioskouroi, Artemis) and rituals were performed, partly in the antique way within the old naiskos, partly in amore emphatic architectural and “natural” envi- ronement. The relationships between this part of the sanctuary and the main monumental temples (Olympieion and “Herakles” Temple – Heraion?) have to be rethought under the lens of the complex interplay of tradition and innovations.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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